By John Considine
When Minister Michael Ring launched the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW) last February, it was pointed out how it included a wide range of outdoor and sporting activities. On its website, Failte Ireland said it included 150 golf courses, 17 trails and 50 looped walks. The Golf Courses include Ballybunion - a favourite of US Ryder Cup Captain, Tom Watson. The WAW also included the Galway Greenway project that is to include 78km of traffic-free cycling. The provision of venues for recreational cycling complements the cycle-to-work scheme introduced in 2009 and continued by the current government (see previous post here).
Included in the 159 Discover Points are Skellig Rock View, Skelligs View Point, Little Skellig and Great Skellig. So popular are the Skelligs that they have attracted some intergallactic travellers (at least of the Hollywood kind). This week filming of the Star Wars movie started on the Skelligs (see Irish Times report here). The idea of selling the WAW via the small screen was also an idea put forward by the Kerry politician Brendan Griffin who proposed inviting BBC's Top Gear to film along the 2,400km route. While Top Gear have yet to confirm any such plans, there has been a notable success with Belgium's biggest holiday programme due to start filming soon (see Irish Examiner report here).
While the rebranding of tourist facilities and associated outdoor activities has been well received on the whole, there have been a few questions raised about the cost of the inititive to the public purse. In the last week, there has been an eyebrow or two raised at the cost of signage for the route (here). A total of €2.75m for 2,400km. If it increases participation in physical activity and outdoor sports it may be money well spent.
Included in the 159 Discover Points are Skellig Rock View, Skelligs View Point, Little Skellig and Great Skellig. So popular are the Skelligs that they have attracted some intergallactic travellers (at least of the Hollywood kind). This week filming of the Star Wars movie started on the Skelligs (see Irish Times report here). The idea of selling the WAW via the small screen was also an idea put forward by the Kerry politician Brendan Griffin who proposed inviting BBC's Top Gear to film along the 2,400km route. While Top Gear have yet to confirm any such plans, there has been a notable success with Belgium's biggest holiday programme due to start filming soon (see Irish Examiner report here).
While the rebranding of tourist facilities and associated outdoor activities has been well received on the whole, there have been a few questions raised about the cost of the inititive to the public purse. In the last week, there has been an eyebrow or two raised at the cost of signage for the route (here). A total of €2.75m for 2,400km. If it increases participation in physical activity and outdoor sports it may be money well spent.
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